Kabul , Afghanistan -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- A series of explosions rocked central Kabul early Monday , the day after Afghan security forces said they repulsed a wave of insurgent attacks in the capital and three other provinces .

The explosions persisted for some time , and followed periodic gunfire that lasted well into Sunday night in the Kabul district that houses government offices and allied embassies . There was no immediate explanation , but Afghan authorities had said late Sunday that they were trying to dislodge insurgents holed up in an empty building near the headquarters of NATO 's International Security Assistance Force .

Interior Ministry spokesman Sediq Seddiqi said the remaining insurgents `` have no choice except surrendering or to be killed by the Afghan forces . ''

`` They came today with more than 20 insurgents and suicide bombers and attacked four provinces , '' Seddiqi told CNN Sunday . `` As a result , they got nothing , and 19 of them were killed . ''

The assault was a rare occurrence in a heavily guarded part of Kabul -- but Gen. John Allen , the U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan , said the Afghans beat back the insurgents without allied assistance .

`` They were on scene immediately , well-led and well-coordinated , '' Allen said . `` They integrated their efforts , helped protect their fellow citizens and largely kept the insurgents contained . '' He said the attacks were meant to signal `` that legitimate governance and Afghan sovereignty are in peril , '' but the Afghan response `` is proof enough of that folly . ''

Seddiqi said two civilians were killed across the country , and 15 Afghan police officers were wounded . He said 15 of 19 suicide bombers were stopped before they could blow themselves up , with most of them killed by Afghan security forces .

And Lutfullah Mashal , a spokesman for the National Directorate of Security , said three men arrested in Kabul confessed to plotting to kill Karim Khalil , Afghanistan 's second vice president . Two of the men planned to blow themselves up in Khalil 's home , Mashal said .

The Taliban militia that once ruled most of Afghanistan claimed responsibility for the attacks , saying it launched fighters into battle with suicide vests , RPGs and hand grenades in Kabul and the provinces of Nangarhar , Paktia and Logar . But Mashal said the three men who targeted Khalil confessed to being members of the Haqqani network , a separate insurgent group that sometimes allies itself with the Taliban .

In his statement , Allen said , `` No one is underestimating the seriousness of today 's attacks . '' But ISAF spokesman Lt. Col. Jimmie Cummings described himself as `` underwhelmed , '' and U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker told CNN , `` The Taliban are very good at issuing statements , less good at fighting . ''

Crocker told CNN 's `` State of the Union '' that no Americans had been hurt , but `` our hearts go out '' to the Afghans who had been killed or wounded . He suggested the attacks may be the work of the Haqqani network , rather than the Taliban , saying the Taliban did not have the capacity to carry them out .

NATO 's International Security Assistance Force said as many as seven locations in Kabul were attacked , including Afghanistan 's parliament building and the American , German and Russian embassies . Seddiqi said the insurgents took up positions in empty buildings in three Kabul districts to carry out the attacks , and still held one as midnight neared Sunday . Kabul police said they found and detonated a van full of explosives .

Meanwhile , an airbase used by U.S. troops in the eastern city of Jalalabad , in Naranghar province , also came under attack , the NATO command in Kabul reported . Four suicide bombers wearing women 's burqas tried to attack the Jalalabad airfield where United States troops are based , airfield commander Jahangir Azimi said .

At least three of the attackers were killed , ISAF said in a statement about the incident .

Separately , a group of suicide bombers attacked the police training center in the city of Gardez , in nearby Paktia province . At least eight civilians were wounded , said a police official at the center , who is not authorized to speak to the media and asked not to be named .

And 15 would-be attackers were arrested in Kunduz province plotting similar strikes , said Lal Mohammad Ahmadzai , a spokesman for the chief of police for north and northeast Afghanistan .

The Taliban , the Islamist militia that once ruled most of Afghanistan , said the attacks were in retaliation for the killing of 17 Afghan civilians in Kandahar province last month . A U.S. Army staff sergeant , Robert Bales , has been charged with those killings .

But Jeff Dressler , an expert on the Haqqani network at the Washington-based Institute for the Study of War , told CNN that the coordination seen in the Kabul attacks indicate a Haqqani-led network was behind them , and that planned but disrupted attacks in the north may also be Haqqani-linked .

`` This is likely their unofficial announcement marking the start of the spring fighting season , '' Dressler said . Though the attacks did n't succeed , he said , `` The target selection was likely intended to send a message to the U.S. , U.K. , Russia and the Afghans that this will in fact be a bloody year for all forces in Afghanistan , particularly the east of the country . ''

U.S. Embassy spokesman Gavin Sundwall said he could not confirm that the embassy itself was the target of the attacks , but said gunfire had been heard in the vicinity . In a statement from London , Foreign Secretary William Hague said the British Embassy was one of the targets , but `` every member of Embassy staff is safe . ''

`` The Afghan National Security Forces responded to the attacks bravely , promptly and effectively , once again illustrating the significant progress that has been made in ensuring that Afghans can look after their own security , '' Hague said . The embassy premises sustained `` limited damage , '' he said , and its staff `` dealt with this dangerous situation extremely professionally . ''

India also said it had no reports of its nationals being wounded .

A local police official said attackers took over a central Kabul hotel close to the presidential palace , United Nations office and many foreign embassies , but both Seddiqi and staff at the hotel denied it had been attacked .

A western official in Kabul later said the hotel had been taken over by insurgents , but was then taken back by Afghan national security forces .

CNN 's Masoud Popalzai , Fazal Ahad and Bharati Naik , Pentagon Correspondent Barbara Starr and Foreign Affairs Correspondent Jill Doughterty contributed to this report .

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A fresh series of explosion rocks Kabul early Monday

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Kabul attacks look like Haqqani network 's handiwork , U.S. analyst says

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Afghan VP among the targets of Sunday 's attack , official says

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NATO commander praises Afghans for handling attacks unaided